The donation to the Trucking Carrier Association came as a surprise during its annual meeting.

The donation announcement, which took place at the TCA's Refrigerated Division Annual Meeting, came as a surprise. TCA Chairman Gary Salisbury presented a speech during the meeting, telling the audience the trucking industry must be committed to changing the image of trucking "one person at a time, one trucker at a time, one doctor at a time, one soccer mom at a time."

Following Salisbury's remarks, Pilot Flying J Executive Vice President Mark Hazelwood provided the next presentation. "Image is a huge deal. It's massive. We could just sit back and do nothing about it, but Gary is right — we need a good, strong, healthy image to put the steering wheel back in our hands," he said. "That's why Pilot Flying J will be donating $10,000 to TCA's extremely important public image campaign."

Upon hearing of the donation, Salisbury said with backers like Pilot Flying J, the group will be able to intensify public support for trucking and generate the muscle needed to enact legislation that is favorable to trucking.

"Our ultimate goal is to become a full partner in shaping our operating environment," he said.